Various devices exist for assisting a dentist or othodontist in treating a patient to assure that the patient's mouth remains open. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,241,550, 3,916,880 and 4,200,089 describe mouth or cheek retractors. The device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,880 additionally includes a member for displacing the patient's tongue. U.S. Pat. Nos. 735,762, 1,157,565, 2,476,675 and 4,179,815 exemplify various dental props for holding open the patient's mouth. Such devices also include ancillary members which serve various functions such as mirrors and tongue shields.
A serious drawback with such prior art approaches is that they do not shield the patient's throat. Consequently, if the patient's head is completely bent back, there is a danger that objects can fall into and down the throat, esophagus or trachea. Alternatively, if the patient's head must be maintained in its normal generally vertical orientation, the dentist is restricted in the degree of freedom in the dental treatment.
There is, therefore, a need for a dental device which takes advantage of various prior art approaches while additionally shielding the throat, esophagus and trachea.